Thanks Kurt for sharing this. It sounds just like the Anabaptist criticism of the Lutherans and the Majesterial Reformers. Better doctrine yet lives that are the same. I do hope that this provokes much thought and discussion.

Anonymous

What if having the “right theological truth” serves as the substitute for living like Jesus? I’m convinced that many evangelicals today earn their salvation by listening to “the hardest message ever preached.” That’s what the gospel has been reduced to: a sort of ideological masochism. Why would that make you care about sharing God’s love with people? I don’t think it’s incidental; I think it’s inherent.

Ray. s

I love the message here, sometimes you are the only bible people read. I will be known by my fruit, live what you learn, or like the tear burn, as people we need more of this truth..

http://whitherthougoest.wordpress.com/ Brad Anderson

It may be a good thing to think about, Kurt, but it’s so vague as to be almost worthless. In fact, without knowing what he’s talking about (especially if somebody’s not familiar with Chan), that message could be providing an earnest admonition or a backhanded power-play. I can hear the same thing coming from the Mark Driscolls of the church, too (especially since he seems to keep referring to males only).

http://whitherthougoest.wordpress.com/ Brad Anderson

Sorry – don’t mean to be overly negative. Chan can be pretty good. It’s just that it’s vague enough to be unhelpful, if not problematic.

http://www.makemystuffwork.net/ Erik Pasco

That’s a tough message!

Jon

Question: Since when was a ‘hard’ message necessarily a good message?

Evelyn

A few of other people’s thoughts spring to mind:

“The matter is quite simple.The Bible is very easy to understand.But we as Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers.We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly.Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly.My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined.How will I ever get on in the world?” ~ Soren Kierkegaard “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” ~ G.K. Chesterton.

“Live like Jesus did and the world will listen.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ann van Wijgerden

This reminds me of James 1:22-24: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”